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At least two children among dead in Nova Scotia house fire: Red Cross

A Nova Scotia fishing village is shaken after a fire left several people dead early Sunday, including at least two children, according to the Canadian Red Cross.

RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Clarke said there were multiple fatalities in the house fire in Pubnico Head, N.S, near Yarmouth, but she could not confirm how many people died or their ages.

Four children lived in the now-destroyed home and their father is being treated in hospital, where his common-law wife is with him, said Red Cross spokesperson Melanie MacDonald.

Yarmouth Red Cross volunteer Janine Muise said she spoke to a man who called for the agency’s assistance over the noon hour and told her two of his great-grandchildren died in the fire, which was reported to police shortly after midnight.

“He as you probably understand was quite distraught,” said Muise.

MacDonald said the common-law couple lived in the home with their blended family, and the great-grandfather said an infant boy was among those killed in the blaze.

“The grandfather we spoke with was the grandfather of the lady of the house, and he did mention that he lost two of his great-grandchildren,” said MacDonald.

“There were three other children in the house, but the only thing we know of age-wise is there was an infant boy.”

Clarke said police have spoken to the families of the deceased.

“I cannot imagine how any family member would take news like this,” Clarke told reporters on Sunday. “This is a horrible, horrible tragedy for anyone to experience.”

Clarke said the RCMP are in early stages of a “complex” investigation, which will be assisted by the force’s Major Crime Unit, the Nova Scotia Office of the Fire Marshal and the province’s medical examiner.

Clarke would not say whether the fire is believed to be suspicious.

Dozens of firefighters from several departments in the area were sent to the scene, and arrived to find the home fully engulfed in flames, said Troy Amirault, deputy chief of the West Pubnico Fire Department.

Crews battled the blaze for a couple of hours, he said, but the house was destroyed, with only one wall left standing.

Kathy Bourque, a municipal councillor in Pubnico Head, said the deaths have devastated the small community on Nova Scotia’s southwest coast.

“Everybody knows everybody here in the community, so we’re a close-knit family,” Bourque said in an interview. “When tragic things like this hits, it hits everybody.”

Bourque said she learned about the fatal fire from her husband, a firefighter who responded to the scene.

“My heart sank to my feet,” she said. “I can’t imagine myself being those people in the family’s shoes. It’s unreal.”